Afonso de Albuquerque, the Great

Afonso de Albuquerque, the Great, (born 1453, Alhandra, near Lisbon—died Dec. 15, 1515, at sea, off Goa, India), Portuguese soldier, conqueror of Goa (1510) in India and of Melaka (1511) on the Malay Peninsula. His program to gain control of all the main maritime trade routes of the East and to build permanent fortresses with settled populations laid the foundations of Portuguese hegemony in the Orient.

Albuquerque was the second son of the senhor of Vila Verde. His paternal great-grandfather and grandfather had been confidential secretaries to kings John I and Edward (Duarte); his maternal grandfather had been admiral of Portugal. Albuquerque served ... (100 of 1,167 words)